Gotta love Atlanta travel!

So I did a lot of traveling via Atlanta's metro this past weekend. Now I usually like to drive to wherever I am going. It's just the way I roll. But considering the road construction on the I-75 and I-85 downtown connector plus several sports events and Dragon Con (a HUGE sci-fi convention) taking place simultaneously, it just made sense to ride MARTA (Metro-Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) or as the slogan for Marta states, "Marta is smarter" (of course pronounced "smarta" to ghetto-fabulously rhyme)!

Taking the train really did spare me some traffic nightmares. Plus the oh-so-friendly and helpful Marta staff were right there to "enrich" the experience! If you know of anyone who plans to visit Atlanta and travel on Marta, make sure you pre-warn them that they may be forced to feel retarded by a Marta employee (No matter how super-duper brilliant they may be for real)!

I entered the station just down the road from my home on Thursday evening. I was standing at the automated ticket machine weighing out my options to see if the 4 day pass was really a deal when a Marta lady with an attitude approached me and said, "All you gots to do is put in yo debit card!" I told her that I knew how to pay but was trying to decide which pass is the best value for me. "Well, do you ride da MARTA a lot?" I barely had gotten the words "I will be this weekend" out of my mouth when she was already pressing the buttons for me. She looked at me proudly and said, "That all you gotta do!" Thanks. You know I probably wouldn't have figured that out on my own.

Next, I went up the station platform with my friend Movie Chick to meet some of our other friends who were waiting on us. Let me point out that we were at the North Springs Station, which is the end of the northeast line. All trains there were--obviously, since we were at the end of northeast line--southbound. It was a typical hot, hot Georgia summer evening, so instead of climbing aboard the stuffy train right away, we remained outside for a few minutes chatting before boarding. But before we had a chance to hop on, another friendly Marta staff member informed us that we could get on because that train was southbound and all trains that leave the North Springs Station are southbound. Really? Thanks! And I thought we were going to fly north through the trees! After explaining, "Yes, we know that. Thank you," He shot us a look like we were all retarded and repeated again that the train was southbound and we could get on that train.

It was then and there, that my friends and I decided that Marta needs a new slogan:

Marta is smarta (than you!)

Anyhoo, the reason I rode the train back and forth all weekend was to attend the aforementioned Sci-Fi convention. No, I am not a trekkie and I find Stars Wars only mildly amusing. So what the hell was I going for? Well, I love the movie and TV show related panels and the Walk of Fame. I got to see many stars from Freddy Kruger to Chewbacca. I was really excited to see Sean Astin (whom I loved from The Goonies to Rudy to Lord of the Rings), Matthew Lewis (who played Neville in the Harry Potter movies), Nathan Fillion (who is one of my top 5 hotties), but the thing that excited me the most of all was meeting the Ghost Hunters! They are my heroes. And they don't get (nearly) arrested and led away in handcuffs on their ghost hunts like I do!